"The Fantasticks"

Genesee Theatre

In a Nutshell

Two scheming fathers get more than they bargained for when they pretend to feud in order to encourage a romance between their children

The Fine Print

Promotional value expires Mar 7, 2014.Limit 8 per person. G-Pass not redeemable with mobile app. Use for admission at Genesee Theatre on 3/7. Refundable only on day of purchase. Must purchase together to sit together. Discount reflects Ticketmaster's current ticket prices - price may differ on day of event. Doors open 1 hour before showtime. Merchant reserves the right to substitute closer seat assignment. For ADA accommodations, call box office promptly upon receipt of voucher - availability is limited.Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.

The Fantasticks

The Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s light-hearted, steampunk take on the world’s longest-running musical features an appropriately timeless plot: though a deep-seated hatred keeps two neighbors feuding, their children Matt and Luisa have fallen deeply in love. But predictability goes out the window from the opening number, “Try to Remember,” an ode to tenderness lost sung by the mysterious rapscallion El Gallo. The men have hired the wily liar to kidnap Luisa, thus setting up Matt to be the hero by rescuing her. And the fathers’ feud was a ruse as well, dreamt up to get their offspring to begin a seemingly forbidden romance. But their well-intended machinations—along with the less scrupulous motives of El Gallo—add up to a heartbreaking, yet gently comic, tale that explores themes of love, loss, and growing up.

Genesee Theatre

Originally opened in 1927, the Genesee Theatre closed in 1989 and reopened its doors in 2001 after city funds helped 120 volunteers to restore the theater to its Gilded Age splendor. Its elegant trappings include authentic wall fabrics, an exact replica of the original marquee. But its most notable feature is the 2,200-pound chandelier, which gently spotlights the grand lobby and every audience member passing underneath to show how everyone is a star if you really think about it.

Genesee Theatre

Genesee Theatre began its life with a sellout. Opening its doors on Christmas Day, 1927, it welcomed audiences to four sold-out movie screenings, but those flickering stories weren't the only attraction. A $25,000 pipe organ—and that's in old-timey dollars—immediately caught the eye, while Italian marble, a stunning chandelier, and the building's Spanish Renaissance–style architecture dazzled.

Over the years, many changes occurred, the glamorous quotient rising or dipping with the times and the theater closing altogether in 1989. But when it reopened again in 2004, it was back in full force. Antique chandeliers and fixtures of the period had been brought in from around the country, the luxe carpet had been recreated from a 1927 photograph, and all the dust bunnies had been sent packing with generous severance packages. Yet not all the updates were of the old-fashioned sort: the stage was doubled in size, and cutting-edge technology was brought in to give the theatre's high-voltage visitors, from comedians to musicians, the star treatment.